©Colette Lewis 2026–
Indian Wells CA–
No. 1 seed Chloe Anthony completed her straight-sets stroll to the title by defeating No. 4 seed Lindy Zhou 6-3, 6-3 to earn her first gold ball. Down 3-1 in the second set, Anthony took advantage of Zhou’s second serve, blasting return winners, while improving her own first serve percentage.
“I just tried to go for bigger targets, not go for lines,” said the 12-year-old from Lakeville Massachuetts, who is coached by her mother Elena. “I still had to stay confident in how I play and stay calm. I was a little nervous in the beginning and I couldn’t get my serve where I wanted it. Then I decided to make it, even if it’s not a great serve, just to put pressure on her.”
“It feels very good,” Anthony said. “I’m very happy and very proud of myself.”
Zhou has already played two Easter Bowls at the age of 11, but the diminutive left-hander has already made huge strides since her debut in 2025.
“I played last year and I lost in the second round,” said Zhou, from Glendale California. “I feel like I’m playing more consistent now. Last year I was, like, ripping balls to the fence.”
Zhou, who had also not lost a set all week, could feel the increaased conviction Anthony put into her shots as the second set continued.
“She was really confident, and she was hitting the ball very hard,” said Zhou, who collected her first USTA ball as the finalist.
The boys 12s final, which began at the same time as the girls, lasted more than hour longer, with top seed Dmitriy Flyam holding off No. 9 seed Milan Nair 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
Neither boy seemed able to decide whether offense or defense was the best strategy, and all three sets saw each of them step up, then pull back, never quite settling on a approach.
Nair found some success at the net, but neither could hold serve, with the third set featuring seven consecutive breaks. The seventh was the most pain for Nair, who four game points serving a 3-all, with the six-deuce game finally going to Flyam on his fifth break point.
“I was playing really well in the second set and it was a very competitive third set until 3-all,” said Nair, a 12-year-old from Alpharetta Georgia, who, like Zhou, earned his first USTA ball today. “I had a lot of game points, a long game that he ended up taking. It the third set, he didn’t miss at all; well, he barely missed and he was also aggressive at the right times, so congrats to Dmitriy for another gold ball.”
Flyam, who won the Winter Nationals in January, called on his mental training in that crucial seventh game of the third set.
“That game, I just tried to stay mentally in it, and I guess that helped a lot,” said Flyam, a Hallandale Beach resident, who turns 13 in May. “I try refreshing myself, putting my racquet from my right hand to my left hand, like a flush technique, flushing away the point. I have a sports psychologist (Jared Bones) and he teaches me that. I was a bit tight before the match, but as the match went on I threw away the nerves.”
Like Flyam, girls 14s champion Nadia Poznick is no stranger to success at USTA Level 1 events. With her 7-6(2) 6-0 win over No. 9 seed Violetta Mamina, the top-seeded Poznick collected her third gold ball, after she swept the clay court and national 12s titles in 2024.
The first set was 80 minutes of long rallies, as Mamina employed the same strategy she had used against Isabelle Nguyen in the semifinals: high looping moonballs that kept Poznick on defense, deep in the court.
But she took control in the tiebreaker and was able to find ways to end points more quickly, while still staying patient.
“I think I did a good job fighting in the first set,” said the 13-yaer-old from Ann Arbor Michigan, who trains there with Emily Kelley at Blue Chip Player Development. “In the second set, I took more control, attacked with my forehand well. I did a good job of putting on pressure and coming to the net, because I had a lot of success.”
Poznick expected Mamina to use her moonballs, as she had played her in that 12s final at the Clay Courts, which Poznick won 6-1, 6-2.
“I think in that match I did a better job of attacking early,” said Poznick, who reached the quarterfinals of Les Petits As this year. “I think today I took a little bit to ease into the match, but as I got used to it, I felt like I was able to hit better balls.”
Poznick, who faced Mamina’s older sister Evelina in the first round, had to make a quick transition from the Michigan winter, where outdoor tennis is rare before April.
“That match was really hot,” Poznick said of last Saturday, when the temperature was well over 100 degrees. “But I feel I got used to it. Obviously it’s snowing then in Michigan, but I got used to it as the tournament went on, and I today I felt pretty good.”
Mamina took the loss hard, and was disappointed by her performance.
“I didn’t really play as well as she did,” said the 13-year-old from Henderson Nevada. “I just didn’t play very well and my mental wasn’t very good.”
Poznick, who didn’t lose a set all week, was understandably more positive about her performance during the tournament.
“I’ve had a lot of good friends here and played pretty well throughout out the tournament,” said Poznick, who will be starting to compete on ITF Junior Circuit soon. “I sustained a good level throughout all my matches.”
No. 2 seed Michael Chervenkov kept the No. 1 seeds from sweeping the titles with his 7-6(2), 6-3 win over top seed Ishaan Marla.
Marla had won a 90-minute first set in the semifinals against No. 3 seed Nathan Lee, but today he was on the other side of that, with Chervenkov failing to serve out the first set at 5-4 and 6-5, but finally converting his eighth set point in his opportunity in the tiebreaker.
“I was very frustrated inside, but just trying not to show it,” said the 14-year-old from Canton Georgia, who maintained a stoic demeanor throughout his first appearance in a Level 1 final. “Whenever I’m playing, I don’t want to show my opponents that I’m tired, because I feel like I’m giving them that I’ll keep on grinding.”
Chervenkov said his nerves kept him from playing how he wanted initially, but he began to feel at ease, especially after taking that grueling first set.
“I was pretty nervous, my first final and I really wanted to win this one,” said Chervenkov, who did not drop a set all week. “I may have been playing a little too passive, but once I got in a rhythm, I felt more comfortable on the court.”
Chervenkov once again showed his composure in the final game, when he went down 0-40, but saved four break points to hold for the championship.
“At that point I was preparing to receive,” Chervenkov admitted. “But a couple plus-one winners, then deuce, and then I thought, ‘Ok, I’m going to try to close this out here.’ I think I lost two match before I won, but it felt super good not to extend the match.”
Marla, who had split his previous two meetings with Chervenkov, was at a loss after dropping that first set.
“Honestly, I didn’t really know what to do, I thought I threw everything,” said the 14-year-old from Mason Ohio. “In the second set I started attacking, coming to the net, and he hit some unbelievable shots. He did attack more than I thought he would, and it did surprise me some of the balls that he got.”
Both Chervenkov and Marla are looking to compete in the 16s this year in Kalamazoo, and Marla is already looking forward to their next meeting.
“I’ll try to get better, find more ways to win, and I’ll beat him next time,” Marla said.
Chervenkov, who trains at the Harp Tennis in Cumming Georgia, is going to celebrate his first USTA ball with a dinner out.
“I’m going to dinner, my choice,” Cervenkov said. “I like a nice steakhouse.”
Photos of the doubles champions, with results of all the day’s matches are below:
B12s Singles Finals Result:
Championship: Dmitriy Flyam[1] d. Milan Nair[9] 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
3/4 Place: Jesse Goldman[9] d. Thomas Gamble[3] 5-2 ret-inj
5/6 Place: William Zhou[7] d. Jaden Joyner[9] 3-6, 6-1, 10-4
B12s Doubles Finals Results:
Championship: Miguel Valencia & Milan Nair d. Yifan Nie & Thomas Gamble[2] 6-1, 6-3
3/4 Place: Benedict Zhong & Pavel Abadzhev[7] d. Devansh Patra & Isaac Milner[8] 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
G12 Singles Finals Results:
Championship: Chloe Anthony[1] d. Lindy Zhou[4] 6-3, 6-3
3/4 Place: Cordelia Skye[9] d. Valentina Singh Carvajal[3] d. 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5/6 Place: Alara Buyunkuncu[6] d. Ayenxavia Calugay[9] 7-6(5), 2-6, 10-3
G12s Doubles Finals Results:
Championship: Ayenxavia Calugay & Grace Malholtra[3] d. Alara Buyukuncu & Catherine Chan 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
3/4 Place: Lindy Zhao & Valetina Singh-Carvajal[2] d. Summer Yang & Lucy Jiang[1] 7-5, 6-0
B14s Singles Finals Results:
Championship: Michael Chervenkov[2] d. Ishaan Marla[1] 7-6(2), 6-3
3/4 Place: Pranav Vignesh[9] d. Nathan Lee[3] 7-6(4), 6-3
5/6 Place: Rex Kulman[9] d. Jason Ye 5-3 ret inj
B14s Doubles Finals Results:
Championship: Wyatt Markham & Max D Smith[6] d. Evaan Mohan & Nathan Lee[8] 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(2)
3/4 Place: Jacques Chen & Tony Xu[2] d. James Borchard & Evan Fan[5] 6-1, 6-0
G14s Singles Finals Results:
Championship: Nadia Poznick[1] d. Violetta Mamina[9] 7-6(2), 6-0
3/4 Place: Isabelle Nguyen d. Nicole Alexandrovich[9] 6-4, 6-1
5/6 Place: Gabrielle Alexa Villegas d. Rachel Immordino 6-4, 3-6, 10-5
G14s Doubles Finals Results:
Championship: Natalia Martinez & Ellington Reese[2] d. Ava Chua & Gwyneth Britton[3] 6-4, 6-2
3/4 Place: Victoria Park & Isabelle Nguyen d. Anna Victoria Sandru & Emma Li[7] 6-3, 7-6(4)
The 12s and 14s finals overshadowed the third round of the 16s and 18s, but all four No. 1 seeds advanced in straight sets. Eli Kaminiski, the top seed in the B16s, beating Smyan Thuta 7-6(6), 6-4 and G16s top seed Sylvana Jalbert continued to post at least one bagel per match, beating Mehar Kaur 6-2, 6-0. B18s top seed Alexander Suhanitski defeated unseeded Elijah Mireles 7-5, 6-3 and No. 1 seed in G18s, Ellery Mendell, beat No. 9 seed Emerson Jones 6-2, 6-1.
Unseeded Yilin Chen defeated girls 18s No. 2 seed Calla McGill 6-0, 6-3.
The quarterfinals in both singles and doubles in the 16s and 18s are scheduled for Friday.
In the other top half quarter, two more teens will face off, with 17-year-old wild card Tanishk Konduri playing 19-year-old Kaylan Bigun. Konduri defeated Guillaume Dalmasso of France 6-1, 6-4, while Bigun beat qualifier Daniil Kakhniuk(New Mexico) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.